


Jewel-Eye Jack and the Marked Hunter

by orphan_account



Category: Youtube RPF
Genre: Angst, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Marzia - Freeform, Sweet, birthday fic, cinnamontoast ken, fairy-tale au, pewdiepie - Freeform, sorta - Freeform, supermaryface - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 07:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10714842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The day Jewel-Eye Jack was sent to fix a problem about bears, a marked hunter was sent with him. Something seems familiar about this hunter, but Jack doesn't know why.





	Jewel-Eye Jack and the Marked Hunter

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOODLINDAILY  
> I'M A FEW DAYS LATE BUT HERE IT IS!

 

 

A long time ago, in a land far away, there lived a boy named Sean. Born with the gift of magic, Sean had abilities unlike any other. He could create, destroy, and make miracles on a whim. The kind boy Sean was, he used his gifts to aid his village, helping crops grow and bringing prosperity to the people. Yet they still feared him.

For though his powers were great, Sean’s magic had manifested itself in his eye. “Jewel-Eye Jack” they called him, for his eye glowed green like emeralds. “Jewel-Eye Jack” they called him to his face like a trophy to be worn. “Freak,” they called him behind his back.

But the monarchs of the country disagreed. King Felix recognized Sean’s greatness and appointed him as court wizard. Soon, the whole kingdom came to know what the king did: that Jewel-Eye Jack was the most powerful wizard in the land. He wore the name with pride, knowing that his power helped not only his friends but the whole kingdom as well. No longer did they call him “freak,” rather “Jack” was a name they spoke with admiration.

There were times of sorrow and times of war, but throughout it all, Jack kept the people safe. When the king and queen were in distress, Jack was there to save the day. There was not a problem he couldn’t solve, no evil that was too great for him to defeat.

But there came a day when that would change.

Jack was summoned to the throne room, one day. There had been word of rabid bear attacks in the northern woods, and he was working on a repellent. But when the king’s call came, Jack went immediately.

“Jewel-Eye,” The queen addressed him. “As you know, there have been reports of rabid bear attacks by the northern woods.”

“Yes, majesty,” Jack replied. “The repellent is almost complete. The bears will leave the commoners alone, but they won’t be harmed. It can be ready in one week’s time.”

“A week will be too long, I’m afraid,” The king spoke. He motioned to the guards at the doors. “Our scouts have reported that these attacks aren’t coming from regular bears. They’re bigger, more ferocious.”

“Dire bears?”

“Magic,” the king said solemnly. “They’ve been possessed or cursed or something. Whatever happened, it’s not of the natural world.”

“It’s no matter,” Jack tried to reassure them. “The potion will still work. If I go myself, I can break whatever spell has been put over the creatures.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Sire?”

The king and queen looked at each other, then the queen spoke. “Jack, we know your power is great, but this threat may be one you cannot defeat alone.”

“What? But they’re only bears. Cursed, yes, but I’ve defeated much greater evils. SuperMega, The Lord of Minions, even my own evil doppelganger!”

“Those were all very magical evils,” The queen told him. “This is a _bear_. It could maul your face off and rip off your arms, and then there’d be blood everywhere!”

Jack frowned. He didn’t like how upset the queen looked (or did she look excited? It was kind of hard to tell…) He opened his mouth to protest, but King Felix raised a hand and to stop him.

“It’s dangerous,” he said. “Physically more dangerous than anything you’re used to. So, we’re sending a guard with you.”

“Ooh! Is it The Grumps? I love those guys,” Jack smiled, excited at the prospect of defeating evil alongside his friends.

“No, he’s sending me,” A deep voice sounded behind him, and Jack almost jumped out of his skin.

He turned, hands glowing with magic, ready to fight the intruder, but he froze as soon as he saw the other man. His shoulders were broad and his eyes were dark. Despite the thick leather armor he wore, Jack could tell he was strong, well-built. There was a bow on his back and a sword at his hip, and his hands looked calloused like they had fought and won many battles.

His eyes swept over Jack, taking him in, and Jack felt his cheeks burning. Jack felt like he knew him, somehow. He was hit with an overwhelming feeling of de-ja-vu and longing. The way the other man looked at him said much the same. He recognized Jack, but his eyes were sad. Jack’s heart rate skyrocketed, and he had to force himself to look at the king to stop himself from saying anything stupid. Not that what he said wasn’t stupid.

“What?! _Him?_ I don’t need any help!” Jack motioned wildly to the man beside him, flustered. “W-who the fuck is this guy anyway?”

Jack stole a glance at the man, who immediately looked away, trying to seem like he hadn’t been looking at Jack. God, he was beautiful. Jack didn’t _want_ to like him, but he could feel his heart racing, and his face burning red. He tried to keep a straight face. If they were going to work together, they needed to be professionals, but the look on the queen’s face told him he’d failed that much already.

“This is Mark,” the king said. He wore a smile much like his queen’s, only his gaze was directed towards Mark. “He’s one of the greatest hunters in the land, and he’s graciously agreed to help us in this time of need. Mark, this is-“

“Jewel-Eye Jack, greatest wizard in the world. I know,” Mark stared back at King Felix as he spoke, but Jack could’ve sworn he saw his ears turn red.

“Ah, yes. Well,” The king looked between them. “Then I guess all that’s left is your mission.”

 The queen rose from her seat to address them. “You are being sent to the northern woods to deal with outbreak of bear attacks. Jewel-Eye, your job is to stop the bears. I don’t care how you stop them, only that they’re stopped. Do what you must. Hunter, you are to guard Jack. You’ve dealt with wildlife on countless occasions, which is why We’re sending you. However, Jack is your top priority. If you have to kill a bear to save him, then so be it.”

“Yes, majesty,” Jack and Mark bowed to their monarchs.

“Then go. Save my people,” the king commanded.

“And have fun!” the queen called after them.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The trip was long, and Mark was…interesting. Rather than a horse, the hunter owned a golden giant dire wolf which he (very affectionately) referred to as “Chica.” Jack’s own horse, Sam, didn’t seem to have a problem with it, but Jack was astonished that Mark had managed to tame such a grand beast. He was even more amazed with Mark’s sudden change in attitude.

He practically skipped over to Chica, cooing at her like she was a small child, and not a wolf the size of a horse. Chica wagged her massive tail and flopped onto her back. Barking happily when Mark rubbed her tummy and scratched her ears. She licked him, and he smiled.

Jack could feel his own lips twitching up into a smile. Mark’s grin was very pretty. It was the kind of smile that made other people want to smile too, and Jack couldn’t help it if he stared a bit. However, as soon as Mark noticed, his smiled dropped and he was back to being the serious grump that Jack met in the throne room.

As they traveled, Mark wouldn’t ride beside him. He was either ahead or behind, but never beside Jack. Jack didn’t mind too much, but he thought it strange. He figured they should at least get to know each other if they were going to work together, but Mark didn’t seem to think the same thing.

_It wouldn’t kill him to be nice_ , Jack thought. He couldn’t help being a little disappointed. Mark was very handsome, and Jack had a gut feeling that they knew each other from _somewhere_. Everything Mark did felt too familiar. The way he talked to Chica, the way he rolled his head back when his muscles got stiff and sore, the way one hand hovered by his sword, ready to attack anything that might try to come for them. He just couldn’t figure out why it was all so familiar

Jack tried to joke around. He thought he got Mark to smile, but the hunter never looked at him long enough for Jack to tell. Eventually, Jack gave up and resigned to riding silently behind him. He’d stare at Mark, wondering why the hunter was being so difficult.

That’s when he noticed it. There was some sort of pink marking on the back of his neck, two small half-moons that almost looked like a mustache.

“Hey Mark,” he called out. Mark didn’t acknowledge him. “What’s that on the back of your neck?”

Mark’s hand immediately slapped the back of his neck, covering the mark completely. “It’s nothing,” he said hastily.

Jack could’ve sworn he saw the marking start to glow. Did that mean Mark had magic as well? Was that why King and Queen Pie sent him as Jack’s guard? He wanted to know more, ask Mark where his mark had come from. Maybe it would help him figure out where his powers came from and why he had them.

There wasn’t time, however, for the northern woods came into view as they reached the top of the next hill. The village in the valley between the woods and the hills was rather large, larger than Jack had been expecting. If the worst happened, he planned to evacuate the village while he dealt with the bears, but he didn’t know if that would be possible with that many people.

“Come on,” Mark called out, going ahead.

Jack followed, tightening his grip on the bag slung over his shoulder. These bears weren’t going to hurt any more people. He’d make sure of it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They walked into town like heroes coming back from a war. The townspeople cheered wildly as they made their way through, throwing flowers, gold, baked goods. They were showered with so many gifts, that by the time they made it to the military camp set up at the edge of the woods, Chica and Sam were both weighed down with much more than they could really carry.

Mark helped Jack unload the bags of potions and ingredients that he’d brought along. It was much more than Jack figured he’d need, but he didn’t know how many bears he’d have to repel. Their hands brushed as Jack passed bags to Mark. Jack tried not to get too excited, but he may have made sure that they brushed hands every time he passed Mark something.

When it was all set up, the outpost captain updated them on the situation. “The bears have taken a hostage.”

“The fuck?!” Jack looked up from his potion brewing. “They’re _bears_. They’re not smart enough to take hostages.”

“Apparently, these bears are,” Mark said. “How soon can you finish the potions. I don’t want to be here any longer than we need to be.”

“Geez, impatient much?” Jack retorted. He didn’t miss the way Mark opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it and held his tongue. He looked almost upset. “Well, the mixing is all done. It just needs to brew for another day or two, and it’ll be ready. In the meantime, we should go find those bears. We need to know how many there are-“

“No!” Mark shouted suddenly. “You’re not going in there!”

“What?” Jack jumped at his sudden outburst. “What do you mean ‘no?’ I need to know how many there are if this potion is gonna work. I also need some bear hair. Huh, that rhymes. Bear hair. Bear hair.”

“I’ll get it for you,” Mark said hastily. “Just – just stay here. I don’t – _We_ don’t want you getting hurt.”

He rushed off into the trees before Jack could say anything else. Jack frowned. Mark was acting weird. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he just knew Mark was being _weird,_ and Jack was determined to figure out why.

As soon as he was sure Mark was far enough into the forest, Jack set off after him. He cast spells over himself to make his footsteps silent and kept his magic ready in case anything decided to jump out at him. The forest was quiet. He heard no birds, no bugs, no small rodents running through the trees. It was too quiet. Something was wrong.

“Mark?” He called out into the trees. “Mark, where’d you go? We need to get out of here!”

Something rustled in the bushes behind him, and Jack unleashed his magic, throwing a fireball at it. The bushes erupted in flames, but he heard foliage crunching to his right. He missed. Jack threw another fireball, tossing it behind him when he heard a branch crack at the last second.

“Jack!”

Jack heard the shout as he threw another fireball. In a single sweep of his hands, he extinguished all of the flames, seemingly summoning them back to his hands in preparation for his next attack.

“What the fuck, Jack?!” Mark stumbled out of the bushes, sounding more hysterical than angry. There was soot all over his face, and his clothes were definitely singed. Worst of all, his forearms looked burned. He winced as he moved them.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Jack rushed forward, catching Mark when he stumbled forward. “Fucken hell, what did I do?”

Mark leaned on him heavily. He groaned when Jack wrapped his arms around his back, and that was when Jack noticed the burns on his sides, where the flames ate through his shirt. Panicked, Jack rushed them back to camp, not caring about how quiet he was being.

It seemed to take forever to get back. Mark was still awake and moving, but his pace slowed as they went on. He grumbled less and less as they walked, and his head started lolling. Jack tightened his grip and kept going. He wasn’t completely confident in his magic after what just happened, but he was determined to get Mark to safety.

When they finally got out of the woods, Jack was screaming for the healers. They rushed forward to take Mark, while the guard captain held Jack back, questioning him about what happened. As soon as Jack could get away from the guard captain, he snuck off to the healer’s tent. They’d just finished applying their potions and spells, and Jack rushed to his bedside.

He held Mark’s hand, careful not to touch the healing burns. They’d made it back in time, so the healers’ potions would probably cure him by morning. He couldn’t explain it, but his chest tightened when he saw Mark lying there on the cot. It was a feeling like couldn’t bear to lose Mark, like he’d feel too empty if Mark didn’t wake up. Jack didn’t even know Mark, but he felt the tears welling in his eyes anyway.

His warm calloused hands felt so familiar, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world for Jack to be at his side, but he didn’t know why. Jack couldn’t remember ever meeting Mark before a few days ago, but his body seemed to know those motions: holding his hand, brushing the hair out of his face, sitting beside him as he laid in bed.

Jack stayed there with Mark until morning, sleeping with his head on the edge of the cot. He needed to be there. If Mark woke up and Jack wasn’t beside him, he’d be worried. Jack knew, somehow. And he didn’t want Mark to worry.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

When Jack woke the next day, Mark was sitting on the edge of the bed, stretching his arms. Half of his upper body was wrapped in bandages, but the burns didn’t seem to be bothering him anymore. He didn’t seem phased by what had happened to him, but Jack felt so relieved. He practically leapt into Mark’s arms, hugging him, holding him tight.

Mark stiffened in his hold, but only for a second. Slowly, he relaxed, returning Jack’s hug. Jack couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over, then. He was just so happy that Mark was okay, even though he knew that there was never any real danger.

“You can make fireballs,” Mark mumbled. His body started trembling, and Jack thought he was crying, too. But then he heard a soft deep giggle that was like music to his ears. “You can throw _fireballs_.”

Jack pulled away from the hug, and he was greeted with the most beautiful smile. There were tears in Mark’s eyes, but laugh made Jack feel all warm and fuzzy. Jack laughed along with him, letting the warmth spread through him. He had the sudden urge to kiss Mark, even though they’d just barely met. He could reach out and do it, and he had the feeling that Mark would let him, but Jack held back.

“What the fuck?” He said instead, still laughing, still crying. “Why…why do I feel like I know you?”

Mark’s smile faded then. He stared at Jack for a moment before looking away. “I told you to stay in the camp,” He said, ignoring Jack’s question.

“Mark-“

“You – you could’ve been hurt, or….” He looked tired and a little sad, though his words sounded scathing.

“Do you know why I recognize you?” Jack pressed.

“Did you at least manage to figure out how many-“

“Forget about the damn bears for a second!” Jack shouted. Mark winced, looking guilty, but he didn’t meet Jack’s eyes. “You know, don’t you? You know why I feel like I know you. You know why I was so fucking terrified that you wouldn’t make it even though I _knew_ you were gonna be fine. _Tell me_ , Mark. I _know_ that you know.”

Mark sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes focused somewhere else. When he finally looked back at Jack, there was a look in his eyes like he’d done this before. There was some burden that weighed down his shoulders, and maybe Jack was making it heavier by asking, but he had to know.

“Yes, I know,” Mark admitted. He reached out, cupping Jack’s face. “I’ve known you for years, lifetimes. I could never forget you, but it always seems to take you a while to remember.”

“What are you talking about?” Jack asked. He didn’t move away from Mark’s touch. It comforted him, calmed him.

“The pink mark on the back of my neck, it’s a curse,” Mark traced it with his fingers. “There was…he might’ve been a wizard or a demon or something. He called himself ‘Warf,’ I think. All I know is that he cursed me and now I keep losing you. I never know when it’s going to happen, just that it only happens after I find you. Sometimes I only look at you, other times we get to live our whole lives together, then I just…I fade away. I’m brought to another world, another life, and I’m forced to find you all over again.”

“Other worlds?”

“Yeah,” Mark smiled, even though it wasn’t happy. “I met you in space, alongside the stars, I met you when the world was ending; there was even once when we lived in a world of metal horses and electric paper. We were famous. So many people knew who we were, and they knew we were friends even though we lived in different kingdoms. I think that’s where I was cursed.”

Jack tried to process what Mark said, but it was hard to understand. Mark knew him. They knew each other, and they’d met each other in different worlds. They were friends, maybe lovers, and Mark was cursed to find Jack over and over again.

It felt like a punch to the gut. The man sitting in front of him clearly cared for him, but Jack could hardly remember a thing. It wasn’t fair. He wanted to remember, but if what Mark said was true, then by the time he could remember everything, Mark might already be gone.

“If it’s a curse, then I can try to get rid of it, right? You won’t have to leave again,” Jack didn’t know what kind of magic Mark had been cursed with, but if it was magic, then he could figure it out. After all, there wasn’t an evil in all the land that Jewel-Eye Jack couldn’t overcome.

“You’ve already tried,” Mark said.

“What do you mean, I’ve already tried?...Have you been here before?

Mark bit his lip, reluctant to answer.

“Mark?”

“Yes,” he said. “The last time I was here, there weren’t any bear problems, but you were still the great Jewel-Eye Jack, and Felix and Marzia were king and queen. Ethan was a blacksmith, Tyler was the court jester, Ken and Mary lived somewhere around here, the Grumps were some sort of super-secret special guard. Wade was evil and Bob was one of his minions…”

“Mark, what happened the last time you were here?” Jack pressed.

“You…you died last time. I found you, and we lived…well we lived ‘happily ever after.’ It was years, really; the longest I’ve ever been allowed to stay in one world. Then, you tried to break the curse, but something went wrong. It backfired, and you gained the mark too. We thought it meant you’d remember, if I faded away. If I went to another world, you’d still remember everything and it wouldn’t be so bad…instead, it killed you, and I…That’s why I was such an ass to you when we met this time. It’s hard to look at you and not remember.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

Suddenly, Jack wasn’t so sure he was okay with letting Mark go. He wasn’t before, but now that he knew all of this, he hated the thought even more. Maybe there was something the other version of him missed something. There had to be something that he could do, some sort of spell that he could cast to stop Mark from leaving, or a way to get rid of that curse mark.

 

“Jewel-Eye, come quick!” Suddenly, the captain of the guard burst into the tent, looking frantic. “There’s a bear! A massive one!”

He left the tent as quickly as he came, but Jack was hesitant to follow. He didn’t want to leave Mark, not now that he knew Mark could leave at any moment. But Mark stood and began to strap his armor on. He paused when he saw the worried look on Jack’s face, and pressed their foreheads together.

“It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll figure it out. We always do. But focus. This is important right now.”

“Okay,” Jack whispered back.

 

They rushed out of the tent, Jack readying his magic and Mark readying his sword, but they came to a halt as soon as they saw the bear. It was a massive thing, bigger than Mark’s dire wolf. It was probably the size of a building, and its eyes were glowing orange. It roared, rampaging through the camp like it was a child’s block set.

Jack and Mark shared a look and then next moment they were rushing off into battle, side by side. That felt familiar too, like they’d done it a million times before. They saw more bears around the feet of the large one as they approached, and they fell into a familiar routine. Jack jumped on a pile of fire wood and threw spells at the feet of the bears, forcing them back. Meanwhile, Mark held the ground in front of them, directing the other guards and keeping the bears off of Jack.

“That’s right you little shits!” Jack yelled. “You’re no match for Jackie Boy!”

He caught Mark smiling at him before Mark started yelling too: “You’re gonna have to go through me first! Come at me! Come on!”

Adrenaline rushed through Jack’s veins. He liked this. He liked Mark. He wanted to get to know this Mark who was fighting beside him, smiling and laughing like it was no big deal. They were in the middle of the fight, being reckless and stupid when Jack knew he had a potion that could fix all of it, waiting in his tent, but it felt good to fight alongside Mark.

He swore to himself that they’d get more time. He’d figure out something. He wanted to see Mark’s smile, he wanted to hear him laugh. They’d stop the bears, go back to the castle, and then Jack would figure something out.

“WAIT! WAIT DON’T HURT HIM!” A voice screamed.

The bears backed off suddenly, though the big one was still making a mess of things. Jack and Mark watched it warily, but didn’t move in case it set off the other bears again. From the center of the hoard of bears, a very pregnant blonde woman pushed her way towards them.

Mark dropped his sword. “Mary!? What are you doing here? You’re pregnant!”

Mary paused for a moment, obviously confused. “I…yes? How do you – whatever, just don’t hurt my husband. He’ll change back soon. He just can’t really control himself when he gets like this.”

“Your husband?” Mark asked. He looked at the big bear and his eyes widened. “Oh my god, is that _Ken?!_ ”

“Wait…” Jack looked between Mary, Mark, and the giant bear. “So, you fucked a bear? I mean, I’m not juding you…okay, I’m sort of judging you.”

“What? I didn’t fuck a bear!” Mary glared at Jack. “I mean, he _is_ my husband, but we didn’t…okay, can you help us or not?!”

“That depends what you mean by ‘help,’” Jack told her, watching the bear gnaw on the roof of a building.

“Well, you’re Jewel-Eye Jack, right? My husband ate some fruit that he found in the woods, and then this happened. But you can fix it, right?”

Jack scratched his head, thinking about all of the transformation curses he knew about and how to fix them. It felt a little odd just standing there thinking about it surrounded by a hoard of regular bears while the giant one terrorized the town, but if what Mary said was true, then the best thing he could do was figure out a cure.

“Yeah, probably,” Jack jumped down from the pile of fire wood and started walking towards his tent, Mary and Mark in tow. “What kind of fruit was it.”

“It looked like an apple, but it was orange. I told him not to eat it, but he insisted that it would be fine,” Mary glared at the giant bear who paid none of them any attention. “Then, _that_ happened.”

“Orange apples, orange apples….Oh! Yeah, I know how to fix that,” Jack started going through his collection of ingredients, throwing what he needed into a small bow and grinding it all together.

“Uh, Jack you might wanna hurry,” Mark called.

“Shit, okay, okay, I got it,” Jack folded the mixture between a few leaves and used string to tie it all into a small package.

“That’ll fix him?” Mary asked, following Jack out of the tent.

“If we can get it into his mouth, yeah. Mark, how good is your aim?” Jack passed him the package. They all looked up at the bear. It had taken down a few of the village buildings and most of the tents in the camp, but it hadn’t gotten too far yet.

“Pretty good,” Mark told him, tossing the package around in his hands.

“Alright. Then, I’m gonna get his attention and hold his mouth open. All you have to do is get it in there…” Jack trailed off when he saw Mark smiling at him. “What?”

“I…it’s nothing,” Mark said. It was a lie and the both knew it, but Jack didn’t push him. If Mark was going to say some sort of sappy goodbye, he didn’t want to hear it. They’d see each other again. Mark wasn’t going to just disappear on him. Not this time.

“Well, then, you ready?” Jack looked over at the bear.

He felt his whole body sing with power as magic came to life. Then, he felt his heart race when lips pressed against his cheek. Jack gasped and looked back at Mark, but Mark offered no explanation.

“Let’s go,” He said instead, and rushed off.

It took Jack a moment to collect himself, but he chased after Mark, magic letting him catch up with ease. They were going to fix that bear and then Jack was going to fix Mark. He wanted to remember him. He wanted to get to know him. Most of all, he wanted to kiss those lips.

Letting the thoughts push him on, Jack raced forward, throwing lightning bolts at the bear. It wasn’t enough hurt it, but it definitely got the bear’s attention. Jack gave it everything he had, letting the thoughts of everything that he and Mark could do drive him.

As soon as it was all over, Jack was going to take Mark back to the castle and never let him go. They could race Chica and Sam, Jack could introduce (or reintroduce) him to all of their old friends; and then Jack smiled. He was remembering. He could feel it. He could see them walking together through the castle, pressed against each other in the gardens while they hid from Felix and Marzia, laughing by the river as Chica and Sam played in the water.

“Come you fuzzy fuck! Come and get me!” Jack was beaming. His heart raced. He couldn’t wait to tell Mark. He _remembered._

The bear took a step towards him, towards the forest, but with each step, it started to shrink. Mark did it. Jack hadn’t seen when, but Mark did it. Jack kept throwing spells, making them less and less harmful until it was just balls of flashing light. Before long, the bear shrunk down to human size, and a naked, hairy man fell over on his side, groaning.

“Ken!” Mary rushed over to him, crying and happy. She checked over him, kissed him, and then looked up at Jack. “Thank you.”

“Our pleasure,” Jack said, smiling back. He looked around, and noticed the rest of the bears disappearing back into the forest. Without the big one to lead them, they were content to go back to their own lives in the forest.

“Jack,” He heard Mark’s voice behind him, and Jack spun around.

“Mark! We – no….” As soon as Jack saw him, his smile dropped. Mark was fading. Jack could already see through him. “No, no, you can’t go yet!”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Mark said, reaching out for him. Jack clung to him, tears welling in his eyes. It wasn’t fair. Mark held on tightly, but even that was beginning to fade.

“But I remember,” Jack whispered. His eyes searched Mark’s face, mapping it, memorizing it. “You can’t leave yet. I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to either,” Mark said. He was crying too, but Jack could barely feel the tears when he tried to wipe them away. “It’s okay. I love you.”

Jack kissed him, but it was already too late. He barely felt Mark’s lips on his before they were gone altogether. His arms fell towards his body without Mark there to hold. Jack sobbed.

“No, no no!” Jack cried. He closed his eyes and focused his magic, trying every spell he could think of to summon Mark back, or find him, or even open an interdimensional portal to get to him. Nothing worked.  

“But I remember…I love you, too.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Years passed and the legend of Jewel-Eye Jack grew. The tale of man-bear remained one of his most famous adventures, though no one but Jack seemed to recall the marked hunter that accompanied him.

Some say the man-bear broke him, drove him crazy. Jack came back a changed man spouting non-sense about a hunter the king never sent with him. Something must have happened. Others say he was put under a curse. The man-bear’s wife was actually a witch who stole Jack’s sanity after he took away her husband’s power.

But Jack knew the truth. He never stopped searching, after his marked hunter disappeared. He searched every book in the kingdom for even the smallest hint of the creature called “Warf” who cursed his love. When he finally discovered that Warf had indeed been to this land, Jack set off for his lair without a word.

He never came back. King Felix sent out many expeditions in search of Jewel-Eye but none ever came back successful. It wasn’t until the king himself went searching that they found some clue as to what happened to their most powerful wizard.

When the king came across Warf’s liar, they found it empty, save for the paintings covering the walls. The paintings were old, depicting a man with a pink mark on his neck jumping from one world to another, and a second man with a glowing green eye following him.

The final picture they found was freshly painted, however, and showed the two men hand-in-hand. They sat together, in a grassy meadow wearing smiles and clothes from another world. They were somewhere else now, the king could feel it in his bones. But if what the painting showed was true, then perhaps Jewel-Eye found his Marked Hunter after all.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's sad. I know. I'm sorry. They're happy in the end...just...you know, off screen. 
> 
> But yeah, happy late birthday, [doodlindaily](http://doodlindaily.tumblr.com)!! :D


End file.
